Borough Reduction and Recycling Plans

Caroline Russell: Your Environment Strategy stipulates that all boroughs must submit a Reduction and Recycling Plan (RRP) by 2020. Can you provide an update on: a) how many RRPs you have received, b) which councils have submitted these, and c) how many have been signed off by you?

The Mayor: 20 boroughs have submitted to me their Reduction and Recycling Plan that set out actions to reduce waste and boost local recycling performance. This follows support provided by Resource London and an assessment process undertaken by my officers to ensure that the RRPs align with my London Environment Strategy municipal waste provisions.
Waste collection Authorities
Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Enfield, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow Havering, Hillingdon, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond, Waltham Forest, and Wandsworth
Unitary authorities
City of London, Greenwich, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, , and Westminster,
The 13 remaining borough RRPs are due to me by 20 December. I intend to sign these off by Spring 2020.
I have signed off three RRPs (Enfield, Tower Hamlets, and Richmond) and aim to sign off the remaining 15 early in the new year.

Transport for London Procurement strategy

Caroline Russell: In an update to the Environment Committee on 11 November 2019 your Deputy Mayor for Environment has said that Transport for London (TfL) will produce an updated procurement strategy for energy by Spring 2020. Can you provide a more specific date or month for this release?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is committed to shifting to 100 per cent zero-carbon electricity for its rail operations by 2030. It is currently developing a new procurement strategy for energy and this will set out how TfL will increase the amount of renewable energy it purchases each year to meet this target. An update on this work will be provided to the TfL Finance Committee in March 2020.

Solar on school buildings

Caroline Russell: In your answer to my question 2018/0944 on solar photovoltaics (PV) on school roofs you said there had been “significant additional activity across some Boroughs”. Can you provide an update on: a) which schools in London have taken advantage of solar PV, and b) which schools in London have used the London Community Energy Fund?

The Mayor: I am supporting solar on schools through my London Community Energy Fund and Retrofit Accelerator programme,
The schools which have had solar PV installed through LCEF support are:
If all the projects supported under the current third phase of LCEF proceed to installation, this would result in a further 20 schools having solar PV in Camden, Ealing, Harrow, Hounslow, Lambeth, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Wandsworth.
Since I became Mayor, a further 12 schools, in Hounslow and Lambeth, have had solar PV installed through my Retrofit Accelerator - Workplaces programme (the new name for the RE:FIT programme) with eight more in the pipeline. This Accelerator programme is also in the early stages of supporting three academy trusts and a diocese to retrofit their schools, including installing solar PV where possible.

Fuel Poverty Support Fund

Caroline Russell: The London Assembly Environment Committee report, Keeping out the chill, February 2019 recommended you write to the Environment Committee detailing how energy advice services are evaluated during the application assessment process for the Fuel Poverty Support Fund. How have energy advice services been evaluated during the application assessment process?

The Mayor: Borough bids to deliver my Warmer Homes Advice Service were assessed by officers from the GLA Environment and Communities teams against a number of criteria, including experience of running advice services, engaging with stakeholders, project plans, number of households to be supported and cost. On an ongoing basis the service providers are monitored on the number and type of household assisted and partner engaged. A full outline of the process will be provided to the Environment Committee.

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) use of ramming tactics (2)

Siân Berry: How many times have Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) used ramming tactics against suspects since December 2018, including (a) monthly breakdown, (b) the type of vehicle used by the suspect and, (c) the ages of the suspect who was rammed?

The Mayor: In March 2019, the MPS opened a database to record pursuit information; prior to this data was only recorded on the computer aided despatch (CAD) system which does not allow for search of this nature to be completed. As such we can only answer this question from March 2019 onwards. The age of the riders/drivers are not recorded on the database.
‘Tactical contact’ is shown as having occurred 30 times, on all types of vehicles broken down as follows:
Month (2019)
P2W*
CARS
March
2
1
April
1
2
May
0
0
June
0
1
July
3
3
August
1
3
September
1
4
October
1
4
November
0
2
December
0
1
*Powered 2 Wheelers (Motorcycles and Mopeds)

Ancient Oak trees in Sydenham Hill Woods

Caroline Russell: A constituent has contacted me raising concerns about Southwark Council’s proposals to
fell two ancient Oak trees in Sydenham Hill Woods. They ask if you will write to Southwark Council asking them to remove the felling notices against the two trees with immediate effect and engage in a proper period of consultation and dialogue with the local community about the right approach?

The Mayor: My draft new London Plan requires local plans to protect ‘veteran’ trees and ancient woodland.
However, decisions about the management of individual trees in the public realm and green spaces are taken by local authorities and land managers, and I am not able to intervene in local decisions.
In this case, I understand that following a petition and discussions between residents, local politicians and Southwark Council, the decision to fell the two trees in question has been halted so that further community engagement can be carried out and other options explored. I welcome this development.

Climate emergency – one year on

Caroline Russell: A year ago, you stood with the London Assembly and agreed with our motion to declare a climate emergency in London. The London Assembly said we would welcome further ambitious steps and called on you to support the declaration with specific emergency plans with the actions needed to make London carbon neutral by 2030. What progress have you made towards achieving this aim?

The Mayor: The IPCC has made it clear that the time for action is now, which is why I have already introduced bold policies, such as my zero carbon homes standard and the Ultra Low Emission Zone. On new buildings, I’m already delivering in London by expanding the existing zero carbon homes standard to apply to all buildings. I’m already following through on the low regrets actions in my 1.5C plan, supporting building retrofits in homes and work places, the roll out of heat networks and heat pumps, and phasing out the use of fossil fuels in our public transport system. I continue to push national government to put in place the regulations and funding, as well as devolving the powers needed, to deal with the climate crisis.
I am committed to tackling the climate emergency but I only have powers to deliver less than half the emission cuts required to make London zero carbon. The lack of political will and action from the national government is the single largest obstacle to being carbon neutral by 2030.

Recycling targets

Caroline Russell: One of the areas you have implemented changes in Reduction and Recycling Plans (RRPs) is through “increased recycling targets for 2022”. Can you provide details of what these increased targets are?

The Mayor: I have not set any London-wide recycling targets for 2022. WRAP modelling undertaken for my London Environment Strategy showed that London could achieve a maximum 42 per cent household waste recycling rate by 2022 but this would require at least an additional £100 million of investment from the UK government. Local authorities in their RRPs need to set their own local targets for 2022 and 2025 along with actions to boost recycling. This is essential if they are to make an effective contribution to my London-wide 50 per cent local authority collected waste recycling target by 2025. We are still agreeing local recycling targets with individual boroughs to ensure that they are as ambitious as possible as we review and approve RRPs.
See also my response to Mayor's Question 2019/20733 and Mayor's Question 2019/20829.

Tackling overcrowding at Clapham North tube station

Caroline Pidgeon: A constituent has contacted me with the following question. If tube overcrowding at Clapham North is a concern why has TfL not funded any improvements to the bus networks nor created new direct bus route links to Central London and the City to provide alternatives?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has investigated providing direct bus journeys from Clapham into Central London by extending route 155 to Bank. Unfortunately, TfL’s analysis shows that this would be extremely costly and would not provide value for money, given that it would replicate the Northern line route.
However, there are a number of options for passengers wishing to travel from Clapham to Central London and I would encourage passengers to consider using existing bus services for these journeys. For those who want to take advantage of the Hopper bus fare and take a bus to Victoria, passengers can take the 88 and interchange onto the 2, or the 155 onto the 36 or 185. These options take just over 30 minutes. The 88 also serves quite a large area near Victoria, along Marsham Street. Passengers coming from Clapham Common can take bus route 137, which serves the Sloane Square side of Victoria.
For those wanting to go the City, passengers can take route 155 and interchange with routes 35 or 133.
TfL also continues to investigate increasing the train service frequency on the Morden branch to deal with crowding at Clapham North station, as well as using congestion management as required in the station.

Drivers on the Elizabeth Line

Caroline Pidgeon: Please set out in detail where drivers who have been trained for the Elizabeth Line are currently operating, setting out (1) how many are in full time employment and where they are working, (2) how many are currently not in current employment as drivers for TfL.

The Mayor: Train drivers on TfL Rail/ the Elizabeth line are employed by MTR Elizabeth line to operate the service on behalf of Transport for London. All drivers employed are either operating passenger services or involved with testing the new trains.
There are currently 445 qualified drivers, all of whom are included on the roster and drive trains. Drivers currently operate services between:
Drivers also operate the inter-terminal transfer (between T4 and T123 within Heathrow Airport) and are also carrying out Dynamic Testing with trains in the new Central Operating Section between Westbourne Park and Abbey Wood.

Uber London Limited

Caroline Pidgeon: On the 22nd September 2017 the General Manager of Uber London Limited was sent a 21 page letter setting out TfL’s reasons for not renewing its London Private Hire Vehicles Operator’s Licence. Will you ensure that the full details of TfL’s recent ruling on the 25th November 2019 relating to Uber London Limited are published?

The Mayor: On 25 November, Transport for London (TfL) confirmed that it would not grant Uber London Limited (Uber) a new private hire operator’s licence in response to its latest application.
TfL identified a pattern of failures by Uber, including several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk. Due to the public interest, TfL has set out the reasons behind its licensing decision: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2019/november/uber-lond....
Uber has submitted an appeal against the licensing decision and The Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 allows the company to continue to operate pending the appeal and throughout the appeals process.
During the previous appeal process, which you refer to above, TfL put a number of documents into the public domain: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/taxis-and-private-hire/press-releases-and-ne... The documents were published at an appropriate time during the appeal process and with the approval of the Magistrate’s Court. It is likely that TfL will take a similar approach in this case.

Silvertown Tunnel

Caroline Pidgeon: In assessing alternatives to the Silvertown Tunnel did TfL specifically examine the impact that tolling the Blackwall tunnel would have with the revenue generated used to provide free bus and commuter coaches through the Blackwall tunnel?

The Mayor: As explained in my previous response to Mayor’s Questions 2019/17329 and 2019/19591, Transport for London (TfL) undertook a thorough assessment of options to address the existing problems at the Blackwall Tunnel. The Silvertown Tunnel, with associated user charging and changes to the bus network, was determined as the most appropriate solution. This assessment was subject to extensive public consultation and scrutiny, including through a six-month examination as part of the Development Consent Order application.
Your suggested proposal of using revenue from a Blackwall Tunnel charge to fund free bus/coach services was not examined directly, but TfL’s assessment process considered both user charging at the Blackwall Tunnel and public transport options. In each case, these solutions, or combination of solutions, were found not to be as effective as the Silvertown Tunnel proposals.
For example, tolling the Blackwall Tunnel but not providing an alternative route would result in a proportion of the traffic dispersing onto the surrounding network, thereby exacerbating congestion and poor air quality elsewhere. It would also have an adverse impact on the operation of adjacent river crossings at Woolwich and Rotherhithe, both of which have considerably lower capacity than the Blackwall Tunnel. Furthermore, it would not materially impact on the number of traffic incidents which force the Blackwall Tunnel to be closed regularly and would not provide a viable alternative at such times.
TfL’s assessment considered a range of public transport options, including a cross-river extension of the DLR, and found these would do little to address the problems of congestion, poor reliability and lack of resilience at the Blackwall Tunnel. In your proposed scenario, the take up of free bus and commuter coaches would likely suffer through the lack of reliability and resilience at the Blackwall Tunnel – as happens today with the 108 bus service. In this scenario, any bus services could not be double-decked due to constraints of the existing tunnel, which was explained in my response to Mayor’s Question 2019/17321.

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) use of ramming tactics (1)

Siân Berry: Under what circumstances do the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) use ramming tactics?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is very aware of the public concern around so-called ‘ramming tactics’ and the risks involved when police are involved in pursuits.
The MPS does not have a ramming tactic, but do have comprehensive police pursuit guidance and policy, which in certain circumstances describes permitted tactics that involve contact. Trained police drivers can use a method known as Tactical Contact.
This policy is approved and published by the College of Policing as Approved Professional Practice. This occurs when a police vehicle makes contact with the subject vehicle with a view to terminating its progress. Only drivers trained in tactical pursuit engage in tactical contact, unless there is an immediate threat to life or imminent serious injury. This is a method by which a pursuit can be brought to a safe conclusion, thereby minimising the risk to other road users and pedestrians especially when a more prolonged pursuit occurs in congested areas.

Appendix 1 to TfL 94050 Bus Driver Fatigue Specification

Caroline Pidgeon: Thank you for providing me with the Bus Driver Fatigue Specification (TfL 94050 Bus Driver Fatigue) to the Loughborough University Fatigue Study requested in 2019/12006. Please provide me with Attachment 1 “Notes from a Fatigue Management Workshop” that was distributed along with this document.

The Mayor: Please find attached the notes from a Fatigue Management Workshop (led by Transport for London with bus operators) which took place on the 20 March 2018.

Clapham High Street services to Victoria

Caroline Pidgeon: I have been contacted by local residents who wish to know why TfL appears consistently opposed to Clapham High Street having any direct train service to Victoria, such as via the Gravesend/Dartford service, while TfL supports additional Victoria services for other stations. Please set out why there appears such strong opposition to considering these new services from Clapham High Street to Victoria and what you will do to address this.

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is not opposed to the existing Southeastern service between Gravesend / Dartford and Victoria calling at Clapham High Street, should the Department for Transport (whose responsibilities include this service) wish to take this idea forward.
However, there are a number of practical considerations that need to be taken into account, and any changes to the service would be subject to cost-effective solutions being found to these. For example, the Clapham High Street platforms are too short for the eight-car trains used on this route and there is a lack of selective door opening on the existing rolling stock. There are technical restrictions such as frequent routing of services along an adjacent pair of tracks which do not have any platforms, which make implementation difficult. Finally, there would need to be clear consideration of the impact that any change would have on wider capacity on the rail network. All of these concerns could significantly affect the value for money of any proposal to call services at Clapham High Street station.

Allowing people to donate money to homeless charities from dormant Oyster cards

Caroline Pidgeon: Will you take steps to make it possible for people to easily donate their credit and deposits on dormant Oyster cards to homeless charities?

The Mayor: Homeless charities in London play a vital role, particularly at this time of year, and Transport for London (TfL) encourages people to donate to the London Homeless Collective - a coalition of 29 charities.
Londoners can already donate their old Oyster cards to the Railway Children via charity boxes at Heathrow Airport, Kings Cross and Liverpool Street.
Over the last decade, this has helped raise more than £218,000 for the Railway Children, an international children's charity that works with street children in the UK, India, and East Africa.
TfL is looking to expand the scheme with boxes at several more stations and is exploring further options to enable customers to donate to the Railway Children via Oyster refunds in the future.
TfL regularly publishes the amount of credit on Oyster cards and how people can obtain a refund if they wish. These can be obtained from selected ticket machines at Tube stations, TfL’s Visitor Information Centres or by contacting their customer team on 0343 222 1234.

Options open to owners of Euro 5 Mercedes Vitos

Caroline Pidgeon: Please set out the viable economic options that are available to taxi drivers who are facing retirement but wish to continue working for a few more years and currently own Euro 5 Mercedes Vitos.

The Mayor: The age limit changes for Euro 3, 4 and 5 taxis have been introduced in order to reduce harmful emissions from taxis and improve air quality in the capital. The decision to reduce age limits was taken following a full public consultation and an Integrated Impact Assessment (IIA) which looked at the economic, environmental and social effects of the changes. The IIA recognised that owners of Euro 3, 4 and 5 vehicles will be affected by the reduction in age limits to differing extents.
The age limit proposals will not impact the majority of Euro 5 owners until 2024. The oldest Euro 5 taxis are around seven years old and so, in your example, a driver of a Euro 5 taxis who wishes to work a few more years can do so; they will be able to continue driving their current vehicle until at least 2024. Taxi owners also have the option to apply for a delicensing payment of up to £9,000, sell their vehicle, rent another vehicle, share a vehicle or buy a newer vehicle. Other models of Euro 5 taxi also have an LPG retrofit option, although I recognise that there is currently no retrofit system capable of converting Mercedes Vito taxis to run on LPG.
Transport for London has committed to work closely with the taxi trade on any new proposals to reduce emissions from the taxi fleet.

Closure of 48 Bus Route

Jennette Arnold: Previously my constituents could use the 48 bus to get from Walthamstow Bus Station to London Bridge Bus Station. Now the TfL journey finder recommends two changes (55 to Lea Bridge Roundabout; 488 from Lea Bridge Roundabout to Dalston Kingsland Station; 149 from Dalston Junction Station to London Bridge). Please explain how the closure of the 48 route is helping constituents with mobility impairment to stay connected to London and remain independent.

The Mayor: Route 48 was withdrawn and partly replaced by the extension of route 55 to Walthamstow bus station. This was part of wider changes to the central London bus network in response to falling passenger demand.
Transport for London (TfL) undertook an Equalities Impact Assessment (EqIA) for the scheme. Having considered this alongside consultation feedback, TfL extended route 388 to London Bridge. This ensures that there is same stop interchange between routes 55 and 388 at Mare Street, Hackney. Using this route, passengers, including those with mobility impairments, can travel between Walthamstow bus station and London Bridge with a single same stop interchange.
Customers can prioritise trip options with the fewest interchanges on TfL’s journey planner by changing their preferences.

Warmer Homes and vulnerable people

Caroline Russell: The London Assembly Environment Committee report, Keeping out the chill, February 2019, recommended an assessment of how well your Warmer Homes programme was reaching children, older or disabled people. How many of these people have you helped through the programme? Could you break down the numbers by a) families with children, b) older people, and c) those with a disability?

The Mayor: My Warmer Homes programme provides support to people who are in, or at risk of, being in fuel poverty, providing up to £4,000 of energy efficiency improvements in the homes of qualifying applicants.
The first phase of the programme was open to applications from January 2018 until February 2019. The programme provided support to 287 families with children, 488 people aged 70 and over and 750 people with a disability, with many people fitting into more than one of those categories.

Energy advisors

Caroline Russell: The London Assembly Environment Committee report, Keeping out the chill, February 2019, recommended you prioritise training and deployment of energy advisors to complement your work on energy efficiency and fuel poverty. Has this been done?

The Mayor: Yes, training and deployment of energy advisors have been prioritised through my Warmer Homes Advice Service (formerly the Fuel Poverty Support Fund) since February 2018. The boroughs of Islington, Kensington & Chelsea and Lewisham are contracted to deliver this pan-London service and continually train and deploy advisors to assist fuel poor households. They have assisted over 3,000 vulnerable households so far.

Thefts on London Buses and the Underground (3)

Caroline Pidgeon: Data for the last year shows that people over the age of 65 are increasingly being
targeted by thieves and account for over 20% of all thefts on our transport network. What targeted actions are you planning for our elderly population to protect them against theft and crime on our transport network?

The Mayor: The victimisation of older people by organised crime groups is despicable and I want to reassure you that Transport for London (TfL) and I take this very seriously.
Over the last twelve months, there has been a rise in elderly victims of bus-related thefts, and the British Transport Police have also reported a rise in elderly victims on the London Underground. As part of the multi-agency Operation Farrier, hundreds of officers, working alongside Transport for London staff at some of its busiest stations, have been giving direct advice to customers on how to protect their belongings and avoid becoming a victim of theft. Thousands of crime prevention leaflets were handed out during the operations in September and December.
The Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPC) Roads and Transport Policing Command (RTPC) has worked with Age UK to raise awareness of the problem of ‘bank follow offs.’ This is a pattern of crime across the capital where older people are selected by criminals while visiting their local banks or building societies and withdrawing large cash sums. The older person is then followed by the criminal gang on to the bus or tube network, and, most commonly at the bus stop or station, the criminals create a distraction and use the opportunity to steal the cash of the older person.
The MPS and BTP have had some success in identifying and bringing to court the organised crime groups behind this. Eighteen individuals received custodial sentences in the autumn for their involvement in theft offences in London’s transport network.

Increase in those who consider Anti-Semitism a serious problem in the UK and London

Caroline Pidgeon: In December last year Experiences and perceptions of antisemitism - Second survey on discrimination and hate crime against Jews in the EU by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights was published. Given that the majority of the UK’s Jews live in London, are you as concerned as I am to see that the UK has seen the largest increase of any country surveyed of people who consider Anti-Semitism as a “very big” or “fairly big” issue since the first survey was last undertaken in 2012? What actions are you taking as a result of this work?

The Mayor: I share your concern that the report suggests an increase in anxiety regarding anti-Semitism. London is a city that not only tolerates difference; we celebrate and embrace it. That is why I have pledged to take a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime in all its forms. We must never forget the horrors of the past and as we see anti-Semitism and far-right extremism on the rise again, it’s more important than ever that we stand together against this hatred and truly celebrate our diversity.
Both the Commissioner and I take anti-Semitic incidents very seriously and have taken significant steps to address it. The Metropolitan Police have developed reassurance and preventative policing plans across London and circulated the dates of Jewish High Holy days to local Policing Teams to heighten awareness for the potential of an increase in hate crime incidents.
At the same time, I have increased the investment in supporting victims of hate crime when it does occur, including specialist support for victims of anti-Semitism. The CST and the Shomrim are important partners on the London Hate Crime Board, ensuring that the voice of London’s different Jewish communities is heard when we look at how we collectively address the challenges of hate crime.
There has been a climate in recent years where those who seek to divide us have felt more confident in expressing their offensive views. We will continue to review our response to this including our levels of investment and the sustainability of the support we commission.

Thefts on London Buses and the Underground

Caroline Pidgeon: What are you doing to ensure people feel safe on London’s transport network considering that for the 2018/19-year thefts increased by 20% on the previous year?

The Mayor: The transport network remains a low crime environment, with only 10 crimes reported for every million passenger journeys made. The recent increase in reported crime has been driven by an increase in theft, usually pickpocketing of wallets or phones, on the bus and London Underground networks.
This increase is partially explained by the British Transport Police (BTP) and the Metropolitan Police Service opening up more channels to report crime. The BTP launched an online reporting facility in October 2018, and theft reports spiked. Our public transport networks are also being targeted by prolific thieves working as part of organised criminal networks.
The police are using a range of tactic to deter, detect and disrupt criminal activity, including plain clothes and uniformed patrols, large scale operations and weeks of action with clearly visible interventions. Transport for London is also supporting this work by publicising crime prevention advice to customers through a variety of channels, including station PA announcements. Successful outcomes against offenders are also publicised to deter offenders and make passengers feel safe.

Thefts on London Buses and the Underground (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: What are you doing, working with British Transport Police, to tackle the increase in thefts on our transport network?

The Mayor: While the transport network remains a low crime environment, there has been an increase in crime over the recent years, which is largely driven by an increase in theft offences on buses and on London Underground.
The British Transport Police (BTP) is focusing on deterring, detecting and disrupting criminal activity using a range of tactics. There is also significant joint work between the BTP and Metropolitan Police Service’s Roads and Transport Policing Command. This includes large scale operations like Operation Farrier, a multi-faceted problem-solving approach to tackling theft offences, through which the BTP has made some significant arrests, leading to notable custodial sentences.
Since Operation Farrier started in June, there has been a reduction in offences, and a week of action in September meant hundreds of officers worked with Transport for London staff at twenty of the busiest stations to give advice to customers on how to protect their belongings and avoid becoming a victim of theft. Thousands of crime prevention leaflets and a number of skim-safe card protectors were handed out, and portable digital screens were used at Liverpool Street and Victoria mainline stations to display crime prevention advice.

Donations towards the cost of purchasing fire engines

Caroline Pidgeon: Could you provide a breakdown of any donations received by the London Fire Brigade towards the purchase of fire engines, fire vehicles and other service equipment in the last year, including which organisations made these donations.

The Mayor: In 2018/19 London Fire Brigade received donations of £881k towards the purchase of fire engines, fire vehicles and other service equipment from the London Freemasons, with a further £1k from the London Freemasons received in 2019/20. No other donations towards the cost of vehicles or equipment have been received.

Recycling rates

Caroline Pidgeon: With a fall in recycling rates in London in the last year, can you please explain why you think such a fall has occurred and what you plan to do within your powers to ensure that recycling rates in London increase at least in line with the national average?

The Mayor: The latest Defra statistics published in November show that London’s household recycling rate has not fallen, but increased marginally by 0.3 per cent to 33.4 per cent between 2017/18 and 2018/19. London and the South East are the only regions to have experienced year on year increases since 2015/16, when London’s recycling rate was 32 per cent. Although we have experienced modest improvements London continues to languish at the bottom of the recycling ladder, with 43.5 per cent being achieved nationally. However, this should be viewed in light of the unique challenges London faces, being a dense urban environment with less garden waste to achieve high recycling performance as experienced in the regions, and with a much higher density of flatted properties than the national average.
My London Environment Strategy requires all London boroughs to develop a Reduction and Recycling Plan (RRP) setting their own targets and actions to boost recycling rates and comply with my minimum recycling service level, in order to meet my London-wide 50 per cent recycling target for local authority collected waste by 2025. However, a stronger policy and funding package from Government with significant investment in recycling collection services is needed to achieve this target. Through Defra’s waste consultations I will continue working with the government to ensure that London gets its fair share of funding and support to help boost recycling rates further.
See the link for more details on the latest London and national recycling rates:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-collected-waste-management-annual-results

Seven-car Class 345s

Caroline Pidgeon: I understand that the number of carriages on the new Class 345 trains operating on the section of rail between Liverpool Street and Shenfield has been reduced to seven carriages. What is the reason for this reduction?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has been operating new Class 345 trains on the TfL Rail route between Liverpool Street and Shenfield since June 2017 with seven carriages. This is due to short platforms at Liverpool Street where trains with nine carriages cannot yet be accommodated.
Once Network Rail have completed the work to lengthen the platforms at Liverpool Street, longer trains with nine carriages, that will eventually be used across the Elizabeth line, can be introduced.

Bombardier removing trailer vehicles at Old Oak Common

Caroline Pidgeon: It has been reported in the media that the manufacturer Bombardier is removing two trailer vehicles from selected electric multiple units (EMUs) at Old Oak Common, before the EMU are transferred to Ilford. It is further reported that the trailers are being moved by road to Worksop for storage at Harry Needle Railroad Company’s facillity. How much has it cost to date to a) shorten the trains and b) store the spare trailer vehicles?

The Mayor: All costs for converting nine-carriage Class 345 Elizabeth line trains to seven carriages have been covered by Bombardier and not Transport for London.
The cost for transportation and storage of carriages and trains has also been met by Bombardier.

Predictive Mapping Programs Used by the Met (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: It has been claimed that police forces across the UK are not fully aware how predictive mapping programs work. What are you doing to ensure both the Met and the public understand how these predictive mapping programs and algorithms work?

The Mayor: The MPS predictive policing project group conducted extensive roadshows to inform senior leaders and front-line officers when it first developed and tested its products. The MPS development team continue to be available by email and phone to advise and assist officers in using the technology. The algorithm only analysis crime type, location and time.

Predictive Mapping Programs Used by the Met (3)

Caroline Pidgeon: Do you accept that a reliance on such predictive mapping programs and algorithms can lead to a significant risk of so-called ‘automation bias’, where police officers are deferring key decisions to this technology?

The Mayor: MPS predictive policing products identify areas of high recent offending and predict expectations of further offending. The predictive maps are only the beginning of the process; officers are encouraged to apply their experience and knowledge in proactive policing when patrolling the identified areas thus putting higher emphasis on human decision making.
It is also important to point out that the process does not use any information other than crime type, location and time. There is no detail in the data that would allow bias to form on the basis of any personal characteristics.

Predictive mapping programs used by the Met (4)

Caroline Pidgeon: It has been claimed that predictive mapping programs and algorithms reflect and re-enforce existing patterns of discrimination, which will often mean officers will be directed to attend already over-policed areas. Will you consider using your Ethics Panel to review and advise on any further use of such programs?

The Mayor: The use of predictive policing and associated approaches remains a relatively new methodology in policing, how it is used and applied is still in its infancy. Set against this is the analysis showing that crime is disproportionately concentrated in certain locations. I will keep under review the question of whether I ask the Ethics Panel to examine the opportunities and risks with these approaches.

Police station capacity for new officers

Caroline Pidgeon: With a programme of police station closures underway across London please advise where the thousands of new officers you are expecting to recruit to the Met are going to be based?

The Mayor: In light of the Prime Minister’s promise of an extra 20,000 police officers across the UK, and the recently announced recruitment target of 1,369 for the MPS to have officers on the street by the end of 2020/21, the MPS and MOPAC are reviewing their estate strategy. However, to date, the 2020/21 funding allocation associated with this recruitment target has not been announced creating significant uncertainty as forces plan their budgets.
We are unable to provide additional details at present as the exact impact will depend upon the allocation of the additional officers that the MPS receives and the subsequent operational allocation of that uplift to different types of police services in different locations within the service; both these aspects could impact the exact requirements for the size of the estate. The detailed officer and funding allocations in 2021/22 and beyond have not yet been made available to forces.

Use of agency staff by bus companies

Caroline Pidgeon: Are you content that agency staff used by companies operating on bus routes tendered by TfL receive the same level of inspection and enforcement of safety standards, such as those relating to length of hours worked and restrictions on the use of alcohol and drugs as apply to permanent employees of bus companies?

The Mayor: Agency drivers are subject to the same drugs and alcohol checks as other operational staff supporting routes contracted by Transport for London. Their working hours are scheduled on the same systems and bus operators have processes in place to ensure overall hours worked are not only within legal limits, but also protect rest time. Operators are additionally being required to develop fatigue risk management systems for operating bus services in London - and any resulting changes to working practices will apply to both permanent and non-permanent staff.

Predictive Mapping Programs Used by the Met (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: A recent report by Liberty has named the Met as one of the police forces that uses, or plans to use, predictive mapping programs to predict crime. Please explain how these mapping programs work and how the algorithms are formulated to make decisions on where police should target their resources?

The Mayor: Predictive policing products are only one of many resources available to front line officers. The technology is not mandated and is one of a number of tools that an officer can use to select where to patrol.
The predictive mapping products the MPS currently uses are based on an algorithm developed in-house rather than any of the commercially available software products. The algorithm looks at the location of recent offences, the proximity to other similar offences and the time that has elapsed since an offence was committed. The process relies on research on Near Repeat offending to assign more weight to recent offences than to those that were committed longer ago.

Bombardier Train delivery and Chingford Station

Jennette Arnold: Residents of Springfield Road in Chingford have been forced to endure debilitating noise from Chingford Depot for the last seven years. They were told that this would be brought to an end with the introduction of Bombardier 710s on the line by the end of this year (2019). Yet again Bombardier have failed to deliver these trains on time, leaving my constituents to deal with the consequences. Please detail the discussions you have had with Bombardier to compensate my constituents for the continuing noise issues which Bombardier’s inability to deliver trains on time is the cause of.

The Mayor: London Overground maintains daily dialogue with Bombardier in order to get the new 710 stock into operational service as soon as possible. It was London Overground’s expectation that the first 710 train would be in service by the end of 2019 on the Overground routes from Liverpool Street station, but unfortunately, Bombardier is still working to resolve its software challenges.
The new trains are due to be deployed in early 2020. This will trigger the phased withdrawal of the old 315 and 317 fleets, which are the cause of noise disturbance to the residents of Springfield Road.
London Overground understands the importance of minimising noise levels for its neighbours and is focussing its efforts and resources on rolling out the new fleet as soon as possible.

Police discrimination during Extinction Rebellion protests

Caroline Pidgeon: Following the independent report by The Network for Police Monitoring, which concluded that during the recent Extinction Rebellion protests the police “systematically discriminated against disabled protesters by failing to meet their needs”, how will you be working with the Met and others to ensure that disabled people have the right to protest like everyone else, and are treated fairly and with dignity in such circumstances?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) are aware of The Network for Police Monitoring report and will issue a comprehensive response to the issues raised.
The Gold Commander for the Extinction Rebellion protests, Commander Connors, has held a meeting with several stakeholders and disability groups to discuss their concerns